Where to Find Facebook Privacy Settings
Facebook privacy settings live in one place: the Settings & Privacy menu in the top right corner of your screen. Click the downward arrow or three horizontal lines (the menu icon), then select "Settings & Privacy," and choose "Settings." On the left side of the page, you'll see a column of options — click "Privacy" to open the main privacy control panel.
Once you're in the Privacy section, you'll see controls grouped by what they affect: who can see your posts, who can contact you, who can look you up, and what information is public. Each setting has a dropdown menu showing your current choice. The most common options are "Public" (anyone on or off Facebook), "Friends" (only people you've added), and "Only Me" (just you).
Facebook also scatters some privacy controls elsewhere in Settings — for instance, controls over who sees your friends list or your online status live under "Audience and Visibility" rather than "Privacy." This guide covers the main Privacy section, but you may want to explore the full Settings menu to find every control that matters to you.
Key Takeaways
- Privacy settings are in Settings & Privacy > Settings > Privacy, and each control has a dropdown menu showing who can see that information.
- The three main audience choices are Public (anyone), Friends (people you've added), and Only Me (just you), and you can set different rules for different types of content.
- Your default post audience is separate from your profile visibility — you can make new posts visible to friends only while keeping your profile searchable by everyone.
- Some privacy controls like online status and friends list visibility are in "Audience and Visibility" rather than the main Privacy section.
- Facebook's default settings tend toward sharing more rather than less, so if you want stricter privacy, you'll need to change them manually.
Changing Who Can See Your Posts
The "Who can see your posts?" setting controls the default audience for anything you share going forward. In the Privacy section, find this dropdown and click it to see your options. Select "Friends" if you want only people you've added to see new posts, "Public" if you're comfortable with anyone seeing them, or "Only Me" if you want to keep posts private.
This setting applies only to posts you haven't yet shared — it doesn't change the audience of old posts. If you've already posted something as Public and want to make it private, you need to edit that individual post. Click the three dots on the post itself, select "Edit Post," and change the audience dropdown at the top.
You can also override this default every time you post. When you create a new post, the audience dropdown appears at the top of the compose box. Click it to choose a different audience for that one post without changing your default setting.
Controlling Who Can Contact You and Find Your Profile
Two separate settings control how people reach you. "Who can send you friend requests?" lets you choose between "Everyone" and "Friends of Friends" — the latter means only people who share a mutual friend with you can request to add you. "Who can message you?" is even more restrictive: you can allow messages from "Everyone," "Friends," or "Friends of Friends."
If you choose "Friends" for messaging, people who aren't your friends can still send you a message request, but it won't show up in your main inbox — it goes to a separate "Message Requests" folder that you can ignore. This is useful if you want to prevent strangers from messaging you directly while still allowing them to try to reach you if it's important.
The "Who can look you up using the email address or phone number you provided?" setting controls whether people can find your profile by searching for your contact information. If you set this to "Friends," only people you've already added can find you this way. "Everyone" means anyone with your email or phone number can locate your profile.
Making Your Profile and Information Private
Your profile visibility is separate from your post audience. Even if you set all your posts to "Only Me," your profile itself — your name, profile picture, and basic info — is usually visible to everyone by default. In the Privacy section, look for "Who can see your profile?" and set it to "Friends" if you want only people you've added to view your profile page.
Other profile elements have their own controls. "Who can see your friends list?" lets you choose who views the people you've added. "Who can see your followers?" controls visibility of people who follow your public updates. If you want maximum privacy, set both to "Only Me" or "Friends." Your birthday, relationship status, and work information each have their own audience dropdowns too — scroll down in the Privacy section to find them.
Keep in mind that if your profile is set to "Public," people can still see your name and profile picture even if you hide everything else. If you want to be completely invisible to strangers, you'll need to set your profile to "Friends" and also limit who can find you by email or phone number.
Adjusting Activity Status and Online Visibility
Facebook shows people when you're active on the platform unless you turn it off. To hide your online status, go to Settings & Privacy > Settings, then find "Audience and Visibility" in the left column. Click "Who can see your active status?" and choose "Only Me." This prevents people from seeing a green dot next to your name or knowing when you were last active.
Turning off your active status doesn't prevent you from seeing when other people are online — it only hides your own status from them. If you want to see when friends are active but don't want them to see when you're active, this setting lets you do that one-way.
You can also control active status on a per-person basis. In Messenger, open a conversation, click the person's name at the top, scroll down, and toggle "Show Active Status" on or off for just that person. This is useful if you want to hide from one specific person without hiding from everyone.
Understanding Facebook's Default Settings
Facebook's factory settings lean toward sharing more information rather than less. When you create an account, your posts default to "Public," your profile is searchable by everyone, and your active status is visible. This is by design — Facebook's business model depends on visibility and engagement, so the company makes privacy the harder choice.
If you've never changed your privacy settings, you're likely sharing more than you realize. Spend 10 minutes in the Privacy section reviewing each dropdown. Write down what you want to change, then adjust each setting one at a time. It's easier to remember what you changed if you do it slowly rather than flipping everything at once.
Facebook updates its privacy controls periodically, and new features sometimes come with their own privacy implications. Check your Privacy settings every few months, especially after Facebook announces a new feature. You may find new controls you didn't know existed, or settings that have reverted to the default.
Reviewing and Testing Your Privacy Changes
After you change your settings, test them by logging out of Facebook and viewing your profile as a stranger would. Open a private or incognito browser window, search for your name, and see what information appears. If you're logged out, you're seeing what the general public sees. If you can see your full profile, your settings are still too open.
Ask a friend who isn't connected to you to search for your profile and tell you what they can see. This is the most reliable way to know whether your privacy settings are working as intended. Sometimes a setting that looks private in the menu still shows information to people outside your friends list.
If you find information you don't want visible, go back to the Privacy section and tighten the relevant setting. Remember that old posts may have been shared with a different audience than your current default — if you posted something as "Public" five years ago, changing your default to "Friends" won't make that old post private. You'll need to edit the old post individually.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make my profile completely invisible to people I'm not friends with?
You can make your profile invisible to non-friends by setting "Who can see your profile?" to "Friends" and "Who can look you up using the email address or phone number you provided?" to "Friends." However, your name and profile picture will still be visible if someone finds you through a mutual friend or a group you're in.
If I change my privacy settings, does it affect posts I already made?
No. Privacy settings only explore to new posts you create after changing them. Old posts keep the audience you originally chose for them. To change the audience of an old post, click the three dots on that post, select "Edit Post," and change the audience dropdown.
What does "Friends of Friends" mean for friend requests?
It means only people who share at least one mutual friend with you can send you a friend request. If you have no mutual friends with someone, they won't be able to request to add you. This is a middle ground between "Everyone" and "Friends only."
Why can people still message me if I set messaging to "Friends only"?
Non-friends can still send you a message, but it goes to "Message Requests" instead of your main inbox. You won't be notified about it unless you check that folder. This prevents strangers from cluttering your inbox while still allowing them to reach you if necessary.
Does hiding my active status mean people can't tell I've read their messages?
No. Hiding your active status only prevents people from seeing when you're currently online. Read receipts in Messenger are controlled separately — look in Messenger settings under "Privacy" to turn those off if you don't want people to know you've seen their messages.